S. 2621 · 115th Congress
Protecting America's Workers Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
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BaldwinSponsor9 cosponsors · 8 D, 1 I
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Brown
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Markey
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Murray
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Sanders
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Warren
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Merkley
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Stabenow
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Booker
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Cortez Masto5 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to increase the scope of the Act by applying its coverage to federal, state, and local government employees or individuals performing work for such employees. However, the bill makes OSHA inapplicable to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Mar 22, 2018
Protecting America's Workers Act
This bill amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to increase the scope of the Act by applying its coverage to federal, state, and local government employees or individuals performing work for such employees. However, the bill makes OSHA inapplicable to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.
The bill revises requirements governing worker protection, including by:
- increasing protections for whistle-blowers as well as employees participating in or aiding inspections;
- directing employers to furnish a hazard-free place of employment to all individuals, not just employees;
- requiring the posting of employee rights concerning protection from retaliation;
- requiring site logs of employees' work-related injuries and illnesses, including those of employees of other employers and contractors;
- directing employers to report work-related deaths or hospitalizations;
- prohibiting employers from discouraging accurate record keeping and reporting of work-related injuries or illnesses;
- requiring the Department of Labor to investigate an incident in the workplace that results in the death of an employee or one that results in the hospitalization of two or more employees;
- establishing rights for victims, or representatives of victims, with respect to inspections or investigations of work-related bodily injuries or deaths;
- setting the permitted period for employers to correct serious, willful, or repeated violations while citations for the violations are being contested;
- increasing civil and criminal penalties for certain violations;
- expanding enforcement requirements relating to state occupational safety and health plans, including by allowing Labor concurrent enforcement authority in states where the state plans fail to meet minimum requirements; and
- expanding requirements for workplace health hazard evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Protecting America's Workers Act
Latest action (Mar 22, 2018): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Policy area: Labor and Employment · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Mar 22, 2018
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.